An Author's Scrapbook

Recently started work on my latest novel, Forever Mercy. To mark the occasion, I thought I'd share the draft of the first chapter. Enjoy…

A vinyl record made with coal dust pays tribute to Britain's mining heritage, but it also invokes a warning for the future if technological disruption excludes those at today's 'coal face' of change...

Something from the archives this week. Experts at Cambridge University warned that AI risks denying people of colour a presence in our imagined world of tomorrow...

What's in your loft? Probably nothing quite so kitschy or fascinating as what a Leeds museum found when trawling its storage space. Read the latest post on my author newsletter...

A little creative essaying from the deep archives in this latest post on my author newsletter...

If you're looking for some hard-hitting near-future scifi with a contemporary edge, then check out Citizen Zero...

A new tool is helping libraries screen historic collections to identity green coloured books that contain toxic arsenic. Read the story on my author newsletter...

Ilkley Literary Festival marks 52 years of celebrating great literature with a focus on 'soft power' and the soul of Northern poetry. Read the story on my author newsletter...

This week's post on my author newsletter is a short story culled from my archives. Hope you enjoy it...

Scientists are 'fleshing' out the next stage of robot evolution by exploring the potential of lab-grown muscles, but will this bio-breakthrough cramp their style?

A tiny Saxon cross unearthed in a Leeds field is telling a story about the city's early medieval past. Read the latest piece on my author newsletter...

It wouldn't be Whitby without vampires, so as the town prepares to host its very first literary festival has it made room for these creatures of the night? Read the latest story on my author newsletter...

Welcome to the world-sprawling city of Terapolis. Its architecture is alien, its skyscrapers are themselves living things, and in this macabre megapolis the epilogue to humanity's story is drawing to a close...

Scientists propose a toothpaste made from hair could provide a more effective and long-lasting fix for enamel loss. Read the latest story on my author newsletter...

Developers and academics are working on a new computer game intended to change our attitudes to plastic and reduce the material's impact on the environment.

An avid reader of science fiction he may be, but when it comes to being a writer, Mark Cantrell is not so sure he's earned his place among the genre's stargazers...